Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is the Foreign Affairs minister
Managing Editor of The Herald newspaper, Larry Dogbey, has chastised Foreign Affairs minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa for using his personal Facebook to announce the temporary closure of Ghana’s embassy in Washington, DC, rather than issuing an official government statement.
Reacting to the development on Channel One on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, Dogbey stated that an issue of such magnitude requires a formal communication channel to break the news.
He cautioned that relying on social media for high-profile communications could erode public trust and weaken government credibility.
“This is a very damning thing. You just do not go on your Facebook page and put a thing like that there. Issue an official statement and sign it, or use your PR office and explain what you found and that it is being investigated further. Then it becomes a government statement. But putting it on your Facebook makes you open yourself up for some of this attack,” he stated.
The minister’s announcement, posted on Monday, May 26, revealed that the embassy had been temporarily shut down following the findings of a special audit. The audit uncovered a fraudulent scheme involving abuse of office and financial misconduct at the mission.
According to Ablakwa, the closure is part of a broader effort “to finalise the ongoing restructuring and systems overhaul” within the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s operations abroad.
He described the decision as regrettable but necessary to protect integrity and restore public confidence in Ghana’s foreign service.
While applauding the minister for the probe and subsequent sack of the staff at the centre of the scandal, Fred Kwarteng, Dogbey insisted that the channel of communication was inappropriate.
“This isn’t a personal issue, it’s a national crisis involving an international mission. The appropriate channel would have been an official press release, backed by the Ministry, to show leadership, transparency, and seriousness,” he said.
VPO
After the heavy rains over the weekend, a lot of debris have been left across many parts of Accra. Watch some of the destructions below: